Amusement apparatus.



W. M. GENTLE.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS. APPLICATION rum) JUNE 3, 1910.

Patented Sept. .12, 1911.

3' SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY.

COLUMBIA PLANOGIAPH COHWMIIINGTON, D. C.

W. M. GENTLE.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS. APPLIOATION rum) nnms, 1910.

1,003,249. -Patented Sept. 12,1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR Nilliam M. Gan'fla.

ATTORNEY.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH {IO-,WASHINGTON. n. c.

W. M. GENTLE.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3, 1910.

William M Gentle,

ATTORNEY.

' WITNESSES.-

COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH CD-AWASHINGTDN. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM M. GENTLE, OF GREENWOOD, INDIANA.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM M. GENTLE, of Greenwood, county of Johnson, and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Amusement Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to improve the construction of amusement apparatus of the type known as box-ball, so as to prevent balls wedging between pins or throwing the pins entirely off their mounting by violence of the stroke. This object is accomplished by forming the lower parts of the pins of resilient material, so that the same will yield, and also by mounting the pins so that they will be easily thrown.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

In the drawings Figure l is a side elevation of said amusement apparatus centrally broken away. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through a pin and the means on which it is mounted, the altered position thereof being indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a pin after it has been thrown by a ball, and also the ad jacent parts, the upright position of the pin being shown by dotted lines. Fig. 4 is a section through the device on the line tt of Fig. 1 showing by dotted lines the position the lower parts of a pair of pins as some when a ball attempts to pass between them. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 shows by full lines a side elevation of the resetting means in its unoperated position and on a large scale, and the operated position thereof by dotted lines. Fig. 7 is a central vertical longitudinal section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the. device centrally broken away.

There is shown herein a ball course 10 with troughs 11 at the sides which slope forwardly, whereby the balls 12 will be caused to return to the front of 10 from any points at which they leave the ball course. These troughs extend from the buffer 14 at the rear end entirely to the front end.

Angle irons 15 are placed across the device at the rear end thereof and secured upon side supports 16. These angle irons are above the ball course and carry the rods Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 3, 1910.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

Serial No. 564,871.

17 mounted in bearings 18 and pins 20. The pins 20 are oscillatably mounted on the rod 17.

The pins consist of an upper solid portion marked herein 20 and lowertubular flexible portion 21. The lower portion extends almost to the ball course and in position to be struck by balls and is formed of some resilient material, such as rubber or preferably canvas or reinforced rubber tubing which will yield and yet have great-endurance. The cylindrical form of it tends to give it strength and resistance against the ball, and yet it is capable of yielding rearwardly, as shown in ig. 2, or laterally, as shown in Fig. 1, under the impact of the ball. The ball strikes the lower end and is forced to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2. The first effect on the upper end is to move it to the upper dotted line position, but the ultimate elfect is to throw it to the horizontal dotted line position, although this latter does not occur instantaneously but follows the passage of the ball or occurs after the passage of the ball. That prevents the ball from knocking the pin 011' its mounting.

To facilitate the foregoing operation the pin is mounted on the rod 17 at a point to one side of the center, as shown in Fig. 2, and on the side next to the angle iron 15. This enables the pin to maintain its upright position by gravlty and obviates the necessity of a spring for that purpose and also enables the pin to be easily thrown, because no spring needs to be overcome. The blow of the ball against the lower flexible portion will unbalance the top enough to cause the pin to fall by gravity to the horizontal position and this prevents the bad results which come from the terrific force of the rigid pins when struck by a ball and whereby the mounting of the pin is soon destroyed.

The pins are preferably arranged in the order employed in bowling alleys and after having been struck are reset by the oscillation of the rods 17 which carry resetting fingers 25 that are secured to said rods and normally lie in a horizontal position so as to receive the top of the pin when it is thrown into a horizontal position. As seen in Fig. 6,there is a crank 26 on the outer end of each rod 17, which is connected with the bar 27. One of said cranks extends down to and is connected with a rod 28 which runs to the forward portion of the device to a hand lever 29 fulcrumed at 30 to the lower part of the post 31. The pins are reset by pulling that lever, and after the lever is released, the spring, which is connected with the rear end of the rod 28 and with the plate 33 secured on the side of the frame of the device, returns the reset-ting means to the normal position.

In order to cause one pin when struck to throw all pins behind it, a series of them is connected by chains 35 at their upper ends, as shown in Fig. 7. The series may bediagonal in either direction, as shown in F ig. 8. Thus if the forward middle pin in Fig. 8 is struc every pin will be thrown.

- I claim as my invention:

1 Amusement apparatus including the combination with a ball course over which balls are adapted to be rolled, means over the ball course for mounting the pins pins each of which is pivoted to said means at the front side of a vertical line through the pin and below the center of weight of the pin so that the. portion of the pin above the pivot will be heavier than the portion below and the portion of the pin to the rear of the pivot will be heavier than the portion in front of the pivot, whereby the pin will be easily upset by a ball touching the lower portion thereof, means engaged by the pins for maintaining them in a vertical position, and means for resetting the pins.

2. Amusement apparatus including the combination with a ball course over which balls are adapted to be rolled, means over the ball course for mounting the pins, pins each of which is pivoted to said means at the front of the pivot, whereby the pin will be easily upset by a ball touching the lower portion thereof, the lower portion of each pin extending from the top to a point below the pivot being made of rigid material and the portion extending from the point near the pivot to the lower end being made of flexible material so that when said lower end is struck by a ball it will be bent, and means for resetting the pins.

3. Amusement apparatus including a ball course over which balls are adapted to be rolled, transverse bars mounted over the ball course, a pin pivoting means located slightly above and to the rear of each bar and near the bar, pins pivoted on said pivoting means at a point below and to the front of the center of gravity of each pin and between the center of gravity of the pin and said bar so that the gravity of the pin will tend to hold it against said bar and vertical, and means for resetting the pins.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto afiixed my signature in the presence of the witnesses herein named.

WILLIAM M. GENTLT.

WVitnesses:

G. H. BOINK, J. H. WELLS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

